[MiKc]

Hey guys,

So my battery died a week ago. Got a jump start then brought the car to the dealer. They charged me 500$ for programming + a new battery.
Their reasoning for not having it covered under warranty was because I made lots of short trips throughout the 3 years of owning the car(total mileage = 30,000km after 3 years). Moreover, they said that the system showed that I had my signal lights on for 11 hours and that I have GP thunder installed.

Okay, I guess making short trips does harm the battery but within 3 years? really? Does it really make that big of a difference?
Leaving my signal lights on for 11 hours is impossible. I have my car in the garage, I wouldve been able to hear the ticking noise or see the yellow flashes as I get out the car.

The final problem comes down to the lights. As I have read a similar thread regarding GP Thunders, is it really true that it will drain the battery even after turning off the engine?
Am I required to press the start/stop button twice every time just so everything turns off from now on?

Thread for the same issue: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=593106

[MiKc]

no one knows?

[achien]

Baloney!!!

My 335i has only 43k km after almost 5 years. It's just luck of the draw (a.k.a. bad quality control by BMW) your battery died after 3-years.

I also drive an X5 with the original battery. It is 8 1/2 years old with +150k km.

Originally Posted by MiKc

Hey guys,

So my battery died a week ago. Got a jump start then brought the car to the dealer. They charged me 500$ for programming + a new battery.
Their reasoning for not having it covered under warranty was because I made lots of short trips throughout the 3 years of owning the car(total mileage = 30,000km after 3 years). Moreover, they said that the system showed that I had my signal lights on for 11 hours and that I have GP thunder installed.

Okay, I guess making short trips does harm the battery but within 3 years? really? Does it really make that big of a difference?
Leaving my signal lights on for 11 hours is impossible. I have my car in the garage, I wouldve been able to hear the ticking noise or see the yellow flashes as I get out the car.

The final problem comes down to the lights. As I have read a similar thread regarding GP Thunders, is it really true that it will drain the battery even after turning off the engine?
Am I required to press the start/stop button twice every time just so everything turns off from now on?

Thread for the same issue: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=593106

[Bimmer Al]

Since when do they decide when to pick and choose what they will replace within the 4 year 80K warranty? Is it not bumper to bumper?

[Glim]

Call BMW NA, see what they say, sounds fishy.

Pick up a CTEK 3300 from Canadian tire and charge the battery once a year or when the car sits for long periods.

[matrix76]

Ya, its all BS, I would have told the to piss off I just replace the f'n battery. What dealership was this at?

[MiKc]

Originally Posted by matrix76

Ya, its all BS, I would have told the to piss off I just replace the f'n battery. What dealership was this at?

this was at brian jessel. I kept telling the SA that there must be a mistake somewhere. She kept saying oh no, its all because u have such low mileage that caused the battery to die so young.
God damn, shouldve came here before i paid the buck.
I even suggested them to charge up my battery first and see wut happens. She says no to that as well saying that even if they did charge it, my battery would probably die within a week or so then i'd have to go through this again.
cant believe i actually listened to her BS

[DESI4life10]

I did short commutes as well (5km each way) and my battery lasted 5 years.

I wonder if the battery was programmed properly at the start, or you had a bad battery.

[chad29]

Battery life is not 100% predictable. Batteries typically last 3-5 years, some less, some more. Dealer pricing is outrageous however. If this should be covered depends on the exact terms and exclusions of your warranty.

[CalgaryX3]

I'm not even going to tell you how many KM we have on our E90 335i (it's ridiculously low). However, we still have the original battery on our '07, and I use the battery tender whenever the car will be sitting for more than just a few days, even in the summer driving months.

Asif

[Andy M]

I had a low battery once too because I did a lot of short trips. The car uses more power starting than it can regenerate. Also when the car is turned off, it still uses the battery for things like the GPS, the hard drive, etc. So your SA is not completely wrong.

Like CalgaryX3, I'm on my original battery but I use a trickle charger once in a while to make sure my battery doesn't go too low. I'm surprised though your dealership didn't notify you of a low battery level before it became dead. They found mine was getting low during one of the oil changes.

[MiKc]

Originally Posted by Andy M

I had a low battery once too because I did a lot of short trips. The car uses more power starting than it can regenerate. Also when the car is turned off, it still uses the battery for things like the GPS, the hard drive, etc. So your SA is not completely wrong.

Like CalgaryX3, I'm on my original battery but I use a trickle charger once in a while to make sure my battery doesn't go too low. I'm surprised though your dealership didn't notify you of a low battery level before it became dead. They found mine was getting low during one of the oil changes.

oh well, whats done is done. at least now i know to use a trickle charger once in a while to maintain the battery
thanks for the tip !!

[matrix76]

Originally Posted by MiKc

this was at brian jessel.

Ya, they tried that with me, my car was less than a year old. They told me it had to be less than 50%, blah blah blah, before they would do anything. I was having electrical problems with my car so I told them to fix those problems. Two days later they called me and said they replaced my battery to fix everything. I was screwed over and lied to several times by that dealership. Needless to say I didn't trust them so I bought my next BMW in Langley.

[morphius909]

When I had the minor backfire issue, the dealership tried pinning it on my short trips (err when was 25kms one way short?). Whatever I said.

They recommended a 450 dollar BMW Trickle Charger.

Thanks to this forum site, I got the CTEK 3300 from crappy tire for 49.99 on sale.

Batteries do only last 3-5 years, especially in the cold Canadian north.

Vancouver shouldn't be bad, but go pick up a CTEK when it's on sale and maintain the battery and then you'll be a okay.

[MiKc]

Originally Posted by morphius909

When I had the minor backfire issue, the dealership tried pinning it on my short trips (err when was 25kms one way short?). Whatever I said.

They recommended a 450 dollar BMW Trickle Charger.

Thanks to this forum site, I got the CTEK 3300 from crappy tire for 49.99 on sale.

Batteries do only last 3-5 years, especially in the cold Canadian north.

Vancouver shouldn't be bad, but go pick up a CTEK when it's on sale and maintain the battery and then you'll be a okay.

o okay !!
thanks a lot will go pick one up asap !!

[morphius909]

Originally Posted by MiKc

o okay !!
thanks a lot will go pick one up asap !!

I read a lot of dealers trying to pin the issues on low voltage batteries on the bimmer.

Like Seriously? I doubt Bimmer sourced crappy batteries for the 3.

60+ computer modules, I'm sure the engineers knew what the requirement was.

At least with a trickle charger, the dealer can stop yapping away at low voltage battery...